Elements of Art and Architecture

Karen Brown

Elements of Art and Architecture

Line, Shape and Form, Color, Space, Texture, Surface and Depth, Architectural Plans

Line

Albrecht Dürer, The Four Horsemen, from The Apocalypse,1498, woodcut, 38.7 x 27.9 cm (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Line is the most basic visual element. Lines can be used to define shapes and figures, but also to indicate motion, emotion, and other elements.

Detail, Albrecht Dürer, The Four Horsemen, from The Apocalypse,1498, woodcut, 38.7 x 27.9 cm (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Contour lines and hatching

In a woodblock print of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse by Albrecht Dürer, contour lines — lines that define shapes — are used to mark the outside of all of the elements of the image.

The outline of the hat on one of the horsemen, for example, is clearly made by a few black contour lines. This simple device is so effective that it is hard to remember that there is no hat here, only a few black marks on a white page.

Note, though, that lines are also used to show shading – the shadows caused when light hits one side of an object, leaving the other in shadow. On the hat, for example, the closely spaced lines, called hatching, show that the left side of his hat is in a shadow. This also helps the hat to look more three-dimensional, giving it a sense of form.

Roy Lichtenstein, In the Car, 1963, oil and magna on canvas, 172.00 x 203.50 cm (National Galleries, Scotland, © Estate of Roy Lichtenstein/DACS 2018)

Roy Lichtenstein, In the Car, 1963, oil and magna on canvas, 172.00 x 203.50 cm (National Galleries, Scotland, © Estate of Roy Lichtenstein/DACS 2018)

Contour lines outline all the figures and forms in the image, creating the illusion of shading and form. In addition, there are horizontal lines in the background. While these create shading, they also help create the sense that the riders are moving rapidly from left to right. Motion lines may be familiar to you from comic strips, but they appear in all sorts of work.

Organic and inorganic (geometric) lines

In the Dürer print, we can also divide the lines into organic and inorganic (or geometric) lines (see the section on shape for more on organic and inorganic). Organic lines are loose, curving lines like those found in nature. In the Dürer print, the lines of the horses’ manes and tails, the figures’ hair, and the ruffled clouds are all organic. Inorganic lines are generally straight or perfectly curving lines, like those found in geometry. In this image, most of the lines are organic, but the horizontal lines in the background are inorganic.

Leonardo da Vinci, The Virgin of the Rocks, c. 1483-86, oil on panel, 199 x 122 cm (Louvre, Paris)

Implied lines

We can also look for implied lines. These are not actually drawn, but we can connect the dots (literally or figuratively) to create the lines in our minds. Leonardo da Vinci’s Virgin of the Rocks contains wonderful examples of implied lines.

Here, the implied lines are sight lines, which guide us throughout the image. These help us know where to look, and show us what is important in the painting. Follow the gazes of the figures as they look and point at one another. The angel in the red cape to the right looks out at us, and then points at the infant John the Baptist, at the left. He looks at the infant Jesus, who in turn looks back again at him. Above, Mary looks down at Jesus, and also gestures toward him with her hand.

Detail with implied lines, Leonardo da Vinci, The Virgin of the Rocks, c. 1483-86, oil on panel, 199 x 122 cm (Louvre, Paris)

Basically, once we make it into the space of the painting by meeting the gaze of the angel, we become locked in a cycle of movement between the holy figures, guided by their sight lines.

Cite this page as: Dr. Asa Simon Mittman, “Line,” in Smarthistory, June 23, 2019, accessed October 13, 2023, https://smarthistory.org/line/.

Shape and Form

by DR. ASA SIMON MITTMAN

Shape builds on line and color, as it has to be made of one or both of these. Shape is the property of a two-dimensional form, usually defined by a line around it or by a change in color. There are two main types of shapes, geometric and organic. While most works of art contain both geometric and organic shapes, looking at those that are more completely divided can serve to clarify these qualities.

Geometric shapes

Piet Mondrian is an excellent example of an artist who used geometric shapes almost exclusively. In his Composition with Yellow, Blue and Red (1937-42), Mondrian, uses straight vertical and horizontal black lines to divide his canvas into rectangles of primary colors.

Piet Mondrian, Composition with Yellow, Blue and Red, 1937–42, oil on canvas, 72.7 x 69.2 cm (Tate)

Piet Mondrian, Composition with Yellow, Blue and Red, 1937–42, oil on canvas, 72.7 x 69.2 cm (Tate, CC-BY-NC-ND 3.0)

Nothing here gives the impression of the natural world.

Organic Shapes

On the other hand, Maori facial tattooing, known as moko, uses primarily organic shapes. They are still, like Mondrian’s shapes, generally abstract — they do not depict any clear images — but the shapes are like those found in nature, curving, twisting, and spiraling across their wearers’ faces. The edges of the lines and shapes are crisp, but the forms are curving and sensuous.

Moko (photo: James Heremaia, license information)

Ancestor Figure (Korwar), late 19th–early 20th century, Indonesia, Papua Province (Irian Jaya), Cenderawasih Bay region, in northwest New Guinea, wood and glass beads, 26 cm high (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Form

Form is actual, three-dimensional shape, though it is often used to describe the illusion of three-dimensionality, as well. Like shape, form can be geometric or organic.

A small korwar — a representation of an ancestor — from Irian Jaya, New Guinea, mixes these form types well. While the figure is predominantly geometric, with the head shaped like a cube and the nose an arrow pointing downward, the curving organic lines around the eyes soften this effect a bit.

Cite this page as: Dr. Asa Simon Mittman, “Shape and Form,” in Smarthistory, July 11, 2019, accessed October 13, 2023, https://smarthistory.org/shape-and-form/.

Color

by DR. ASA SIMON MITTMAN

Hue

Colors of the visible light spectrum (image: Meganbeckett27, CC BY-SA 3.0)

Artists can use colors for many reasons other than to simply duplicate reality including setting moods and highlighting importance.

The colors of the world can be divided in different ways. When we use the term “color” casually, what we usually mean is hue. Hues appear on the visible spectrum. On the spectrum, we see the pure hues. These can be divided into primary, secondary and tertiary colors, as on this color wheel.

Color wheel (image: public domain)

Primary, secondary and tertiary colors

Primary colors are, for most art media, red, yellow and blue (the exception is the additive color system, which is used in computer screens, theater lighting and the like, and has red, green, and blue as its primary colors). All the rest of the colors can be made from these.

Secondary colors are made by mixing two primary colors: Red and yellow make orange, and so on.

Tertiary colors are made by mixing a primary color with a secondary color.

Complementary and analogous colors

The colors opposite one another (like red and green or blue and orange) are complementary colors, which tend to stand out boldly next to one another. These are therefore often used for university colors and sport team logos. Colors next to one another (like red and orange or blue and green) are analogous colors, and these tend to blend together more smoothly.

Warm and cool colors

The colors on the left of this wheel are called cool colors and those to the right are warm colors. Using cool or warm colors in an image can create moods. Pierre Auguste Renoir used warm colors for his Mother and Child, 1886, creating a warm, cheerful, inviting scene. The oranges, pinks and yellows dominate the image.

Left: Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Mother and Child, 1886, pastel, 79.1 x 63.5 cm, (Cleveland Museum of Art); right: David Alfaro Siqueiros, Peasant Mother, 1962, oil on burlap, 249 x 180 cm (Museum of Modern Art, Mexico City) © David Alfaro Siqueiros

Diego Alfaro Siqueiros presents a similar subject in his Peasant Mother (1929), but through the use of cool colors, instead creates a sad, cold scene dominated by figures of blues and greens. Neither of these artists was worried about portraying the world as it really looked. Instead, they used color to inspire feelings in the viewer.

Value (tint and shade)

Color can also be considered in terms of value, which is the degree of lightness or darkness of a color. If we add white to a hue, we get a tint. If we add black, we get a shade. As we might expect, tints tend to be more cheerful — pastel colors are all tints. Shades tend to be gloomier. Indeed, our terms for moods are based on these properties, so that we say that we are lighthearted, or in a dark temper. There are many tints in the Renoir’s Mother and Child, and many shades in Siqueiros’ Peasant Mother.

Henri Matisse, Red Room (Harmony in Red), 1908, oil on canvas, 180.5 x 221 cm (The State Hermitage Museum)

Zhou Chen, Peach Blossom Spring, 102.5 X 161.5 cm (Suzhou Museum)

Saturation

Finally, intensity or saturation is how bright or dull a color is. Henri Matisse tended to use very saturated colors, as in Red Room (Harmony in Red) (1908), whereas in Peach Blossom Spring (1533), Zhou Chen relied on a much more muted palette with very little saturation of colors.

The landscape is almost entirely in shades of brown and beige. The grey-green of the trees is low in saturation, leaving the single splash of red on the child’s clothes the only moment of high saturation in the image. Therefore, we notice this tiny detail within this large painting. The Matisse painting, on the other hand, is a blaze of colors. The vibrant red of the wall and tablecloth dominates the image, in sharp contrast with the green grass showing through the window and the blues and purples curving throughout the image.

Contrast

Contrast is the amount of variation between the highest and lowest values in a work. This is perhaps most commonly used to talk about photography, but can be applied to any work. Hiroshi Sugimoto’s Cliffs of Moher (1989) has very low contrast. There are no dark blacks, no stark whites; everything is in very similar shades of gray.

Left: Hiroshi Sugimoto, Atlantic Ocean, Cliffs of Moher, 1989, offset lithograph, 24 x 31 cm (Art Institute of Chicago) © Hiroshi Sugimoto; right: Robert Mapplethorpe, Calla Lily, 1987, gelatin silver print, 17.94 × 17.78 cm (Minneapolis Institute of Art) © Robert Mapplethorpe / The Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation

The low contrast conveys the soft and gentle feeling of a heavy mist over quiet water. On the other hand, Robert Mapplethorpe photograph, Calla Lily (1987) has much higher contrast, meaning that the difference in the whites and blacks is much greater. The effect is much sharper and crisper, making this simple flower appear grand and impressive.

Moving yet further, in Kara Walker’s silhouette image, Untitled (from Testimony), the contrast is absolute. We see only black and white (and here, some red).

In this case, the artist is using the power of this contrast to draw the viewer’s attention to some of the problems in American race relations, and their origins in the institution of chattel slavery. Therefore, while visual elements produce visual effects, their implications can extend well beyond the purely visual.

Kara Walker, Untitled (from Testimony), 2004, cut black paper with pencil, pressure-sensitive tape, metal fasteners, and synthetic polymer film on paperboard, 52.7 x 38.1 cm (The Museum of Modern Art)

Additional resources:

Art terms in action: tint, shade and tone (video from MoMA)

Making purple: the science of art (video from The National Gallery)

Making Green: Tempera versus Oil (video from The National Gallery)

The Alchemy of Color and Chemical Change in Medieval Manuscripts

Cite this page as: Dr. Asa Simon Mittman, “Color,” in Smarthistory, June 24, 2019, accessed October 13, 2023, https://smarthistory.org/color/.\

Space

by DR. ASA SIMON MITTMAN

Left: Raphael, La Donna Velata, 1514-15, oil on canvas, 82 x 60.5 cm (Palazzi Pitti, Florence); right: St John the Evangelist in the Lindisfarne Gospels (London, British Library, MS Cotton Nero D IV, f. 209v).

A convincing illusion of space

Space is used to refer both to depth—real or represented—and also to the general surface area within a work of art. Some periods of art history show a great deal of interest in creating convincing illusions of three-dimensional space in two-dimensional media. Perhaps the most iconic (though certainly not the only) example of this is the Italian Renaissance (c. 1400-1600), when artists very deliberately worked to created convincing illusions of depth.

Look at how Raphael creates an illusion of three-dimensional form in La Donna Velata. Through careful variations in value, particularly in shading — the use of darker colors to create the illusion of shadows — Raphael convinces us that the woman in the painting is really there in three dimensions.

Light seems to strike her from her left, casting her right side in shadow. The folds of her voluminous sleeve are a particularly splendid example of the illusion of space. Even examining a small detail of it, it is hard to believe that there is no depth, at all, just thin layers of paint on flat canvas.

Details of the sleeve, left: Raphael, La Donna velata, 1514-15, oil on canvas, 82 x 60.5 cm (Palazzi Pitti, Florence); right: St John the Evangelist in the Lindisfarne Gospels (London, British Library, MS Cotton Nero D IV, f. 209v).

For sharp contrast, we can examine a detail of a page of the Lindisfarne Gospels. Both images show a person in voluminous robes, looking out at us, but here, the similarities end. Raphael’s figure is lit softly, creating highlights and shadows that create a sense of roundness and weight to her body and clothes. The figure of John the Evangelist from the Lindisfarne Gospels, on the other hand, is almost totally flat. There is virtually no shading to his body and the folds on his clothes are purely schematic patterns.

If we isolate a small detail of John’s sleeve, as we did with La Donna Velata’s, it is difficult to even recall that this series of lines and colors is intended to be seen as a three-dimensional form, at all.

Perugino, Christ Giving the Keys of the Kingdom to St. Peter, Sistine Chapel, 1481-83, fresco, 10 feet 10 inches x 18 feet (Vatican, Rome)

Perugino, Christ Giving the Keys of the Kingdom to St. Peter, Sistine Chapel, 1481-83, fresco, 10 feet 10 inches x 18 feet (Vatican, Rome)

Wolf Vostell, No: Life as a Picture—A Picture as Life series, photograph, 1963

Linear and atmospheric perspective

There are various methods used by artists to create the illusion that their figures exist in three-dimensional space. Among the more effective are linear and atmospheric perspective. Another work from the Italian Renaissance will serve to demonstrate both. Pietro Perugino’s Christ Handing the Keys to St. Peter, uses both linear and atmospheric perspective to create a very convincing illusion of depth.

Linear perspective is based on the optical illusion that parallel lines seem to converge as they recede into the distance. Railroad tracks are the classic example, as in, Wolf Vostell’s photograph from his No: Life as a Picture—A Picture as Life series from 1963. If we overlay the lines used on Perugino’s painting, we can see how he used this effect. The lines are called orthogonal lines or orthogonals and they meet on the horizon line, at the vanishing point. Note that as all the orthogonals converge, the forms also get smaller.

Perspective diagram, Perugino, Christ Giving the Keys of the Kingdom to St. Peter, Sistine Chapel, 1481-83, fresco, 10 feet 10 inches x 18 feet (Vatican, Rome)

Tobias Verhaecht, The Clivus Scauri in Rome, chalk, graphite and ink on paper, 22 x 17.1 cm (Rijksmuseum)

Tobias Verhaecht, The Clivus Scauri in Rome, chalk, graphite and ink on paper, 22 x 17.1 cm (Rijksmuseum)

The tool of one-point linear perspective is very simple, and artists can use it to create a convincing illusion of depth with only a few pencil strokes and without the careful measuring and use of a straightedge, as in Tobias Verhaecht’s sketch of a Roman ruin. Two- and three-point linear perspective are slightly more complicated, but operate on the same general principles and produce similar results.

Perugino also uses Atmospheric perspective. This is based on the optical effect that makes objects in the distance appear paler, bluer, and less detailed that objects that are close to us. Returning to Perugino’s painting, we can see that he has replicated this effect, carefully making the figures in the foreground (the portion of the image that appears to be closest to the viewer) bolder in color, the smaller figures in the middle ground paler, and the hills in the background (the portion of the image that appears to be in the far distance) fading off into pale blues.

An important note

It is important to note, though, that the use of various techniques to create a convincing illusion of depth does not make Raphael or Perugino “better” artists than the anonymous medieval monk who painted the page of the Lindisfarne Gospels, nor does it make their works any “better” or more sophisticated. The illusion of depth is one of the many tools in the artist’s toolbox, and it is serves some purposes very well, but it is not always the most powerful or effective way to convey an idea and, indeed, can sometimes be in direct conflict with the intentions of an artist.

Additional resources:

Drawing techniques from the V&A

Cite this page as: Dr. Asa Simon Mittman, “Space,” in Smarthistory, July 9, 2019, accessed October 13, 2023, https://smarthistory.org/space/.

Texture

by DR. ASA SIMON MITTMAN

Texture is the feeling of a surface, real or represented. This might refer to the roughness or smoothness of actual objects and art media, or to the illusion of these properties.

Jeff Koons, Balloon Dog, 1994-2001, transparent color coating, stainless steel, 320 x 380 x 120 cm (photo: Kim, © Jeff Koons)

Surface texture

Jeff Koons’ Balloon Dog has a perfectly smooth, mirrored surface it is difficult to resist touching (though we must). It is this surface texture that turns these replicas of commonplace, short-lived and disposable items (balloon animals) into precious objects.

In contrast, the coarse, bristly surface of an ancient Shang Dynasty Fang-Ding — a ritual vessel used in worshipping dead ancestors — grants the work a vibrant energy, but does not invite our touch.

Fangding Ritual Food Vessel with Abstract Decor, 14th-11th century B.C.E., China, Shang dynasty, cast bronze, 21.7 x 17.1 x 15.2 cm (Harvard Art Museums)

The illusion of texture

The illusion of texture is no less important to our experience of works of art.

Dutch still life paintings are justly famous for their careful, illusionistic replication of objects. The smooth silver plates and glass goblet of Pieter Claesz’s Still Life seem to tease us, as do the rougher cookies and breads, and the crumbly pie. The knife handle, pointing out of the image toward us, seems just beyond our grasp, and therefore makes this magnificent spread all the more tantalizing.

Pieter Claesz, Still Life, c. 1625, oil on panel, 48 × 76.9 cm (Art Institute of Chicago)

Cite this page as: Dr. Asa Simon Mittman, “Texture,” in Smarthistory, July 10, 2019, accessed October 13, 2023, https://smarthistory.org/texture/.

Surface and Depth

by ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO

What makes paintings feel as deep as the view from a window or as flat as a wall?

This video is part of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Art Explainer series. URL: https://youtu.be/WZKqr1Wy45w

Using three artworks from the Art Institute’s collection, this video unpacks a central theme and uses innovative visual storytelling to highlight the choices artists made to shape form and meaning in their works. Ultimately, it shows that each of us already possesses a powerful tool for making sense of art: looking closely. Art Explainer videos empower you to look at and understand art from any historical period or culture. Designed for students as well as adults, this video series is produced for the web and usable in a wide range of learning environments, from mobile devices to formal school classrooms.

The following works from the Art Institute of Chicago appear in this video:

Poussin, Landscape with St. John on Patmos
Harnett, For Sunday’s Dinner
Mondrian, Lozenge Composition with Yellow, Black, Blue, Red, and Gray

Cite this page as: Art Institute of Chicago, “Surface and Depth,” in Smarthistory, January 26, 2018, accessed October 13, 2023, https://smarthistory.org/surface-depth/.

Light and shadow

by ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO

This video is part of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Art Explainer series. URL: https://youtu.be/PnQv8Di8Ark

How does an artist use light to help keep us out of the dark? Using three artworks from the Art Institute’s collection, this video unpacks a central theme and uses innovative visual storytelling to highlight the choices artists made to create light and shadow in their works. Art Explainer videos empower you to look at and understand art from any historical period or culture. Designed for students as well as adults, this video series is produced for the web and usable in a wide range of learning environments, from mobile devices to formal school classrooms.

The following works from the Art Institute of Chicago appear in this video:

Tanner, The Two Disciples at the Tomb
Kollwitz, Battlefield
Flavin, “monument” for V. Tatlin

Cite this page as: Art Institute of Chicago, “Light and shadow,” in Smarthistory, February 7, 2018, accessed October 13, 2023, https://smarthistory.org/light-and-shadow/.

Architecture: What’s the Difference Between a Plan, an Elevation and a Section?

https://www.nda.ac.uk/blog/identify-plans-elevations-sections/ URL: https://youtu.be/3REqM7wGrXA

URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3REqM7wGrXA

Transcript

TRANSCRIPT:

This video is designed to help you tell the difference between the different views used to show an interior space. These are plans, elevations and sections. To help demonstrate this visually we have used an orange.

A perspective drawing is used to create a realistic drawing of an object, showing this object in 3 dimensions. The further away the objects in the drawing the smaller they will become.

Plans, elevations and sections are 2D visuals that represent a 3D object. Combining different 2D visuals allows you to create an accurate representation of a design. Or in the instance of interior design, a space.

This is a plan view. In basic terms, a plan is a birds-eye view of a space. When drawing a floor plan, the roof would be removed so the interior space can be seen.

This is an elevation view. An elevation is a view from the side of an object, when drawing interior elevations, this would represent one of the walls. This would include any windows or doors as well as any built-in furniture that is in direct contact with the wall.

This is a section view. A section is a cut through of a space which will show more of the room’s features. It also allows you to show some structural detail. A section line can be cut from any part of the space, depending on what you would like to show.

Key terminology introduced in this section:

Contour line

Hatching

Shading

Organic lines and shapes

Geometric (or inorganic) lines and shapes

Implied lines

Form

Colors: primary, secondary and tertiary

Hue

Complementary and analogous colors

Value (tint and shade)

Saturation

Contrast

Space – real or represented

Linear perspective – horizon line, vanishing point, orthogonals

Atmospheric perspective

Texture

Plan

Elevation

Section

Elements of Art and Architecture

Elements of Art and Architecture

Line

Contour lines and hatching

Organic and inorganic (geometric) lines

Implied lines

Shape and Form

Geometric shapes

Organic Shapes

Form

Color

Primary, secondary and tertiary colors

Complementary and analogous colors

Warm and cool colors

Value (tint and shade)

Saturation

Contrast

A convincing illusion of space

Linear and atmospheric perspective

An important note

Texture

Surface texture

The illusion of texture

Light and shadow

Architecture: What’s the Difference Between a Plan, an Elevation and a Section?

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